On infant formula

Sadly, my milk supply still hasn’t increased even though I have been working my a** off. I have been supplementing with formula or pumped milk since her 2 month doctor’s appointment and overall we have a very happy little girl that is gaining weight and finally has a thigh roll 🙂 This post is to share some knowledge over formula, what I give Berkley and our experience with it so far.

Prior to any milk supply problems I had read up on formula by chance. More out of curiosity than anything… but I am a researcher and I like to be informed. To give you some background, my husband and I are pretty health-conscience. We really care about what we eat & where it is sourced from. We care about animal treatment and will pay more for food that we know is higher quality. And we don’t trust the US food system all of the time. You can only watch so many documentaries to know that we have major issues in the US when it comes to our food. So I am a skeptic to begin with.

The first article I read was a Food Babe article over formula. The thing that bothered me about what I read was that it only compared organic US brands and there were still so many things “wrong” with the formula. Synthetic preservatives, palm oil, etc.

From the Food Babe article:

“I will only cover organic formula, and I hope that readers will understand that while there are many problems in this segment of the organic industry, organic formula is still a far better choice than conventional formula, with its genetically engineered ingredients (GMOs), milk from cows that were likely treated with antibiotics or artificial growth hormones, and oils that were processed with the use of neurotoxic solvents like hexane. Major ingredients in conventional formula are derived from crops that were sprayed with harmful pesticides and herbicides in the field and likely fumigated in storage.”

My head was spinning after going through this article. But at this point, it didn’t even cross my mind that I would need to start giving Berkley formula sooner than later. Fast forward to her 2 month appointment and the #milksupplyprobs that I shared and all of the sudden I needed to give B formula. The first thing I did was order some Honest Company Organic Formula. Using the Food Babe article, I went through every single ingredient and decided it looked pretty good, all things considered. I liked the fact that the first ingredient was actual organic milk vs. some sort of sugar product- which is the first ingredient on most formulas, sadly.

After ordering and trying this formula (Berkley took it just fine. I didn’t notice any tummy issues) I did even more research and came across this article on Gimmethegoodstuff which lead me to the discovery of Holle Infant formula out of Germany… which is pretty much as good as it gets when it comes to formula in regards to quality & safety. By this point, it was clear that I would be giving Berkley much more formula then planned, therefore, I have since then been ordering Holle through Little World Organics– Berkley loves it. The biggest difference I have noticed in this formula is actually in her poos which are now very close to breastmilk poos even though she gets a good amount of formula per day (sorry Berkley for publicly blogging about your bowel movements).

I think as consumers often times we assume that the food we eat is safe if it is sold in the grocery stores. And you would assume that infant formula is especially safe & has the highest of quality standards. Sadly that isn’t always true. I know every mom just does they best they can do with the information they are given and it is overwhelming to literally put in the time and energy to research every-little-thing (and try to get some sleep!). I felt compelled to spread the word, especially if you are using formula. I know up until 2 months ago I was completely in the dark and it was just by-chance that I stumbled across these above articles. Sharing is caring and I care a lot about you and your babies. Maybe I will start a formula company one day 🙂